Drowning || Larry Stylinson

chapter ten

for·give·ness

/fərˈɡivnəs/

noun

the action or process of forgiving or being forgiven.

"she is quick to ask forgiveness when she has overstepped the line"

synonyms: mercy, reprieve, grace, absolution

The scent of brewed coffee and freshly baked pastries whispered through the air, overwhelming Louis's senses. His hands were curved around a hot latte, the art work and cinnamon topping already melted into the beverage. He hadn't taken a sip of the drink yet, wanting to wait for it to cool down and for Harry to show up. But as fifteen minutes past 11:00 came around, Louis was starting to feel quite foolish. Yet a part of him held out hope that any moment, his old friend and bandmate would round the corner to the private section of the coffeeshop.

Louis looked over his shoulder to see if maybe there was another private section of the coffeeshop. The bodyguard who had guided Louis through the back of the building had claimed it was the only section, but maybe there was some backroom that Harry could be waiting at, thinking that Louis had stood him up.

The soft screech of a chair against the hardwood floor caused Louis to jump, twisting back around to witness Harry pulling it back. There was a sheepish grin on Harry's face as he tilted back the chair, trying to prevent it from making too much noise. With a gentle wave, Harry sat down in front of Louis. The action was so nonchalant, like the two hadn't been avoiding each other for months now. The second the two were out of the limelight, off the stages and in the tour buses and hotel rooms, Harry and Louis didn't interact with one another. Now here Harry was, acting like they had just gone out the night before and might be nursing some hangovers in a coffeeshop.

"How's it going, Louis?" Harry greeted, motioning at Louis with his own drink. Whatever he was drinking was in a plastic cup, frozen with a whipped cream topping, sprinkles and caramel over it. Harry took a sip, then set his drink down, his eyebrows raising at it. "Oh, wow, that's a lot of sugar."

Louis snorted. "What were you expecting, mate, a kale smoothie?" he asked, bringing his mug to his lips, taking a slow sip. He swallowed then cleared his throat, gently rocking his mug so the now room temperature latte was spinning around inside. Louis then shrugged, looking through his eyelashes up at Harry. "I'm about as well as you'd expect lately."

Harry frowned, like he didn't know what could have been going on in Louis's life as of late. "What do you mean?" he asked, his eyebrows pulling together and nose crinkling at the bridge.

"Well, I had another attack and passed out again. And, you know...lost my best mate for reasons beyond me." Louis mumbled the last part, clearing his throat again as his eyes drifted back to his drink. He sighed and took another sip before sitting back in his chair, trying to keep a casual demeanor as he stared at Harry. "Why did you ask me to meet you?"

Harry couldn't meet Louis's gaze, his fingers playing with the condensation forming on the side of his frozen drink. His forefinger dipped into the top of the plastic lid, into the whipped cream near the top. He brought his finger to his mouth, sucking it between his lips as he cleaned it off. It was then, out of all times, Harry had lifted his green eyes towards Louis. The blue-eyed man jumped a little at this, not expecting his stomach to do a flip at this simple gesture. His throat and mouth were suddenly dry as he tried to calm down his heart. It felt like at any moment, it was going to jump out of his chest and onto the table in front of them.

"Ricky broke up with me. I'm sure you heard. Things have just been rough lately and I feel bad for taking it all out on you," Harry murmured, his lips glistening as he wiped his finger off on his jeans. A small smile formed as he shrugged, practically staring Louis down with his fiery gaze. "I want to apologize."